Metakaolin is a pozzolanic material with the potential to reduce permeability and chloride ingress; however, quantification of the effects of metakaolin use on the cracking sensitivity of concrete mixtures is needed to ensure that these improvements in performance are not compromised. This study was conducted to investigate the early age cracking potential due to restraint stresses from incorporating metakaolin in concrete. Calorimetry testing showed that metakaolin was more sensitive to temperature than mixtures with only Portland cement. Results showed more shrinkage, less stress relaxation, and higher restraint stress from the inclusion of metakaolin, potentially increasing cracking sensitivity of mixtures. 1 This section was published in Construction and Building Materials[57]. Permission is included in Appendix A

Ce travail porte sur la prévision du risque de fissuration en fretting fatigue des contacts Teta/Frette des conduites flexibles servant à l’acheminement du pétrole et du gaz. Les mouvements de la houle produisent des micros déplacements typiques du fretting entre les fils de Teta et de Frette. Le problème des conduites flexibles est particulièrement complexe puisqu’il implique de prendre en compte des forts niveaux de pressions induisant de la plasticité et des sollicitations variables. Pour répondre à ce problème, des études expérimentales et numériques ont été menés en parallèle. L’étude de fissuration est divisée entre prévision du risque d’amorçage des fissures et étude des conditions de propagation. L’amorçage est étudié avec le critère de fatigue multiaxial de Crossland appliqué à distance critique pour prendre en compte les gradients de contrainte spécifiques au fretting. Cette distance critique est optimisée pour être représentative du large spectre de gradient des contraintes étudié. Il est montré que si la distance critique est constante quelle que soit le gradient des contraintes, elle est associée à une longueur de fissure amorcée dépendante du gradient (couple ℓopt-bopt). Cette approche optimisée, combinée à une loi élastoplastique représentative permet des estimations très précises des conditions d’amorçage des fissures. [...] / This work concerns the prediction of fretting fatigue cracking risk in the Teta/Frette contacts of flexible pipes used for oil&gaz transportation. Swell movements produce micro-displacements between Teta wires and Frette wires, which are typical of fretting. Fretting problem in flexible pipes is particularly complex as it involves taking account of high pressure levels inducing plasticity and variable loadings. To answer this problem, experimental and numerical studies have been carried out. Cracking study is divided between crack nucleation risk prediction and the study of crack propagation conditions. Crack nucleation is studied using Crossland multiaxial fatigue criterion applied at a critical distance to address fretting stress gradient effect. This critical distance is optimized to be representative of the wide spectrum of stress gradient studied. It is shown that if the critical distance is constant whatever the stress gradient, it is combined with a crack nucleation length which depends on the stress gradient (ℓopt-bopt couple). This optimized approach, combined with a representative elastic-plastic material law, allows very precise estimates of crack nucleation conditions. [...]

This thesis presents how to establish a theoretical model to predict risk of thermal cracking in young concrete when cast on ground or an arbitrary construction. The crack risk in young concrete is determined in two steps: 1) calculation of temperature distribution within newly cast concrete and adjacent structure; 2) calculation of stresses caused by thermal and moisture (due to self-desiccation, if drying shrinkage not included) changes in the analyzed structure. If the stress reaches the tensile strength of the young concrete, one or several cracks will occur. The main focus of this work is how to establish a theoretical model denoted Equivalent Restraint Method model, ERM, and the correlation between ERM models and empirical experiences. A key factor in these kind of calculations is how to model the restraint from any adjacent construction part or adjoining restraining block of any type. The building of a road tunnel and a railway tunnel has been studied to collect temperature measurements and crack patterns from the first object, and temperature and thermal dilation measurements from the second object, respectively. These measurements and observed cracks were compared to the theoretical calculations to determine the level of agreement between empirical and theoretical results. Furthermore, this work describes how to obtain a set of fully tested material parameters at CompLAB (test laboratory at Luleå University of Technology, LTU) suitable to be incorporated into the calculation software used. It is of great importance that the obtained material parameters describe the thermal and mechanical properties of the young concrete accurately, in order to perform reliable crack risk calculations.  Therefore, analysis was performed that show how a variation in the evaluated laboratory tests will affect the obtained parameters and what effects it has on calculated thermal stresses.